“The Day of the Lord” is an important phrase in the Bible referring to the coming day when God will begin to pour out his wrath upon this earth. Whether in the Old or New Testament, scriptures dealing with the Day of the Lord are very consistent and upon comparison paint a very clear picture of this coming day of God’s wrath.
Isa 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Isa 13:7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
Isa 13:8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
Isa 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Isa 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
Isa 13:11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Isa 13:12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Isa 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
Here are some elements found in this passage that will be seen repeated again and again in scriptures dealing with the Day of the Lord:
Joe 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Joe 2:9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
Joe 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
Joe 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Joe 2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
Joe 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
In these scriptures from the book of Joel, we find many of the same elements:
Amo 5:18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.
Amo 5:19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Amo 5:20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
In Amos’ description, we see again:
Zep 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
Zep 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
Zep 1:16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
Zep 1:17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Zep 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
In Zephaniah’s description, we see again:
When we get into the New Testament, God is still making the same type of references to the Day of the Lord:
Act 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
In Acts 2, Joel 2 is being quoted, and again we see:
1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Once again, the same elements are associated with the Day of the Lord:
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Now that we have seen all three explicit references to the phrase “the Day of the Lord” in the New Testament, we need to put 1 Thessalonians 5 in its proper context. 1 Thessalonians 5 begins with the conjunction “but” and is a continuation of the thought begun in chapter 4.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
This, of course, is the clearest, most famous passage in the Bible concerning the rapture. However, many stop reading there instead of going on to chapter 5 and getting the rest of the story.
1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
What is he referring to when he says, “the times and seasons”? He is referring to the times and seasons of what he just told us about in chapter 4 – the rapture. The church at Thessalonica had no need for Paul to write unto them of the times and seasons of the rapture because they already knew that the Day of the Lord is coming as a thief in the night. Therefore the timing of the Day of the Lord is the same as the timing of the rapture.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1 Thessalonians 5:9 is referring back to the rapture discussed in 1 Thessalonians 4 and helps tie the entire passage together. Believers will be caught up in the rapture the same day as God pours out his wrath upon this earth. God’s wrath will be poured out upon the earth immediately after the rapture takes place. This is exactly what Jesus taught in Luke 17:
Luk 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
Luk 17:27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luk 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
Luk 17:31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
Luk 17:32 Remember Lot's wife.
Luk 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
Luk 17:34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
Luk 17:35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Luk 17:36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Luk 17:37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
Here Jesus is comparing the day when the Son of man is revealed to the days of the flood. Just as it began to rain the same day that Noah entered into the ark, God’s judgment will come on the same day we are taken out of this world via the rapture. Likewise, just as fire rained on Sodom the same day Lot was taken out by the two angels, God’s fiery judgment will be poured out on the same day we are taken out of this world by the rapture. That day is known as “the Day of the Lord.” Luke 17 is 100% consistent with 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5.
Now let’s look at another classic “Day of the Lord” passage from the New Testament.
Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Here we see another clear reference to the day of the Lord, and all the key elements are there.
It is important to note that here the King James Bible states that the day of his wrath “is come.” Modern Bible versions have changed this to say “has come” and have thereby slightly altered the meaning. The phrase “is come” is clearly letting us know that the day of God’s wrath had not come at a previous time but had just arrived at this instant. The Day of the Lord is again marked by the sun, moon, and stars being darkened, just as it is over and over again throughout the Old and New Testaments. Thus it is undeniable by anyone that the great day of the Lord’s wrath occurs directly after the sixth seal is opened in Revelation 6 and not sooner.
Next we see the following statements opening chapter 7:
Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
Rev 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
It is clear from these verses that up to this point, God has not begun to damage the earth, the trees, or the sea. God’s wrath is about to be poured out in the form of hail and fire mingled with blood that will burn up a third part of the trees and all the green grass. However, the rapture must first take place before he begins to rain fire upon the earth and pour out his wrath. Directly after this pronouncement and before God begins to pour out his wrath in Revelation 8, an innumerable multitude appears in heaven:
Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Rev 7:16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Now that all believers have been removed he can begin to pour out his wrath the same day.
Rev 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
Rev 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Rev 8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Rev 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Now let’s look at the clearest passage of all, Matthew 24, in which Jesus clearly lays out the timeline of the rapture in relationship with the Day of the Lord in perfect harmony with 1 Thessalonians 4 & 5 and Luke 17:
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Here we see that the Day of the Lord and the rapture (which take place on the same day) occur immediately after the tribulation. Therefore the “tribulation” is not God pouring out his wrath since the great day of his wrath does not come until after the tribulation!
Let’s keep reading in Matthew 24:
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Many people will refer to the fact that “no man knoweth the day nor the hour” of Christ’s coming at the rapture which is referred to in verses 36 and 42. They are right to do so. However, they conveniently ignore the statement in verse 29 that this day will come after the tribulation and teach that Christ could come “at any moment” even thought the tribulation has not yet taken place.
November 4, 2010
Dear Sir/Madam:
On October 6, 2010, at approximately 12:30am, Benson police officer MERRILL (badge #132) pulled me over because my license plate light had burned out. Officer MERRILL greeted me and asked for my license, registration, and insurance, which I handed him immediately. He told me why he had pulled me over, and I responded, “Okay.” He then asked me where I was headed, which I told him was my own business. He then asked my passengers for their ID’s. I began to remind him that in the United States of America, passengers do not need an ID card to ride in a vehicle, which prompted him to tell me, “You keep your mouth shut!” I didn’t appreciate being interrupted and spoken to in such a rude manner by one of my public servants who was apparently there to protect and to serve me, the citizen.
I invoked my 4th amendement right to be secure in my property, and my 5th amendment right not to answer any questions of the officer who had stopped me. As a result of me peacefully asserting these rights, officer MERRILL became very emotional and angry and removed his GUN from its holster. His partner (hereafter referred to as officer JOHN DOE) drew his taser and pointed it at me. I told officer JOHN DOE, “That is a deadly weapon!” to which he responded, “Yes, and it’s gonna get even more deadly!”
Officer JOHN DOE announced his intent to kill me when he stated that his deadly weapon “was going to get even more deadly.” Officer JOHN DOE admitted that his weapon was a deadly weapon, and then explicitly threatened to kill me, thereby committing AGGREVATED ASSAULT. I exited my vehicle and was then placed in handcuffs and sat on the ground humiliated for about 20 minutes. Eventually I was allowed to go free and was not charged with any crime. I am the pastor of a Baptist church, owner of a small business, father of five, and an upstanding, law-abiding citizen.
A video-recording of this incident can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYjI138u1z0&
I would like to file a formal complaint against officer MERRILL for his emotional, irrational, and militant behavior. Officer MERRILL threatened and intimidated me with a DRAWN GUN and a BATON into answering questions that I was not legally obligated to answer, but that I answered under duress.
I would also like to file a formal complaint against officer JOHN DOE and press criminal charges against officer JOHN DOE for committing AGGREVATED ASSAULT against my person. Please inform me of any other steps necessary and/or any other forms necessary to press this matter to the full extent of civil and/or criminal law. Please respond to this letter as soon as possible to inform me how you will resolve this matter.
Sincerely,
Pastor Steven L Anderson
Many people are confused about how people were saved in the Old Testament. Most of the confusion comes from dispensationalists, who teach that we are living in “the age of grace” or “the dispensation of grace,” and that the people living in the Old Testament were saved by their works or adherence to the law. Others teach that people in the Old Testament had to perform animal sacrifices in order to be saved. These teachings are simply not true. Everyone who has ever been saved has always been saved by grace through faith without works, just as we are today.
The doctrine of salvation by faith alone was taught by every Old Testament prophet:
Acts 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
In reading the Old Testament, we see many examples of people being saved just as we are today. For example, the book of Romans tells us that we are saved by simply believing on the Lord Jesus and calling upon him for salvation:
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Notice these scriptures from the book of Genesis:
Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
Genesis 12:8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. (Abraham)
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Abraham)
According to Genesis 12, Abraham called upon the name of the LORD. God makes it clear in Romans 4 that Abraham was justified by his faith, and not by his works.
Romans 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
Romans 4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Romans 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Romans 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
David was saved the same way centuries later, long after the law of Moses given:
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Romans 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
Romans 4:7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Romans 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Righteousness was imputed unto Abraham and David by faith alone without works. Later in the chapter, God tells us that we are saved the same way that both Abraham and David were saved:
Romans 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
Romans 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
Galatians 3 teaches the exact same doctrine concerning Abraham’s salvation:
Galatians 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Galatians 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Galatians 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
The Bible also clearly records that David called upon the name of the Lord in order to be saved:
Psalm 116:10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
Psalm 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
The Bible tells us again that we are saved the same way that David was:
2 Corinthians 4:13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
2 Corinthians 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
We are not living today in a special “age of grace” or “dispensation of grace.” The age of grace began in the book of Genesis! When Abel died and went to Heaven, he went to Heaven because of God’s grace. He did not deserve to go Heaven, just as we do not deserve to go to Heaven. Everyone who has ever gone to Heaven has gone by grace.
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” – Genesis 6:8
Do not be deceived by those who teach a works-based salvation. Man has never been saved by his own works and never will be saved by his own works.
Many will ask the question, “What name did they call upon to be saved in the Old Testament since they did not yet know the name of Jesus?”
First of all, what name did Abraham call upon?
Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
Abraham called upon the name of “God Almighty.” David called upon the name of “the LORD” or “Jehovah.” We call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The common denominator is that we all call upon the name of the same person by faith in order to be saved. God Almighty = Jehovah = Jesus Christ who was God in the flesh.
Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Now that Jesus Christ has been revealed in the flesh, no one can be saved without acknowledging the fact that he is the only saviour, and without believing in his death, burial, and resurrection:
1John 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Act 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
We know much more than the Old Testament saints knew since we are living after Jesus Christ has already come, and since we have the entire completed Bible at our fingertips. However, the method of salvation has not changed. We are saved by calling upon the name of the Lord by faith, just as they were.
(Note: this narrative can be freely copied and/or drawn from and is not copyrighted whatsoever. This narrative was written by Pastor Anderson himelf).
On
The two charges were “obstructing the highway” and “resisting an order directing, regulating, or controlling a motor vehicle,” and involved an incident on April 14, 2009, when Pastor Anderson refused a warrantless search of his vehicle at an internal border patrol checkpoint at mile marker 78 of eastbound I-8, 75 miles east of Yuma, AZ (55 miles north of the international border). The 1 hour and 15 minute standoff ended with Border Patrol and Arizona DPS officers shattering out the car’s windows, tasering Pastor Anderson for 18 seconds, and maliciously shoving his face into broken glass and roughing him up before taking him to the hospital and then ultimately to jail.
A six person jury from Wellton, AZ, found Pastor Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church not guilty on the count of “obstructing the highway.” When asked why, one of the jurors stated that “they were the ones who stopped [Pastor Anderson] and caused [him] to be in the roadway against [his] will, and they had no right to send [him] to secondary to be searched.”
The jury found Pastor Anderson not guilty of “resisting an order directing, regulating, or controlling a motor vehicle” because the statute states that you must be resisting an order from a peace officer directing your motor vehicle, and border patrol agents are not peace officers. The DPS officers who later arrived on the scene were peace offices, but although DPS Officer Jones testified in court that he twice ordered Pastor Anderson to move his car to secondary, video evidence revealed that in fact he never ordered Pastor Anderson to go to the secondary inspection area. He only ordered him to get out of his car, which is not an order regulating a motor vehicle. Therefore he could not have resisted an order that he never received. In addition, before Officer Jones even spoke with Pastor Anderson, he had already put stop sticks in front of the tires of the car which would have made it impossible for him to send Pastor Anderson to the secondary inspection area.
A few new facts about the incident surfaced in the course of the two day trial as the state’s witnesses were questioned and cross examined. A detective with DPS who is an expert in dog handling and dog training and which had actually had experience with the border patrol K-9, “Jerry C”, that supposedly alerted to “concealed humans or narcotics” in Pastor Anderson’s vehicle, explained that the dog did not actually alert to the Pastor’s vehicle. In his words, the dog “was on the fringe” or on the verge of an alert by dragging its handler toward the vehicle, but that an actual alert would have consisted of the dog sitting down where the supposed contraband was located. The dog never sat down.
Another discrepancy was clarified by the same witness about the length of time that Pastor Anderson was tasered. The first deployment of the taser lasted for 13 seconds, and the second deployment lasted for 5 seconds. It was previously thought that the two deployments were back-to-back, but the state’s witness produced evidence that there was a 3-4 second break between the 13 second deployment and the 5 second deployment. “I sure didn’t feel that break!” said Pastor Anderson. “That just tells me that the 50,000 volt torture session lasted for 22 seconds instead of 18 seconds.”
Another interesting piece of testimony was when DPS Officer Jones and DPS Officer Jeff Mitchell were questioned about the photographs showing large amounts of Pastor Anderson’s blood in the exact shape of his head on the jagged broken glass of what used to be the driver’s side window. Both officers stated that they had no clue as to how or why the Pastor’s head made contact with the jagged edge of the window. According to Pastor Anderson, one of the border patrol agents grabbed his head and purposely shoved it down into the broken glass while he was being tasered in order to “control” his head. The DPS officers stated that they were too far away to see Pastor Anderson being extracted, but that in all their many years of experience which included extracting people through open car doors many times, no one’s head had ever made contact with the broken window sill.
The two “not guilty” verdicts beg the question of why the Pastor was tasered and brutalized since according to
As one of the six jurors shook Pastor Anderson’s hand on his way out of the courtroom, the juror told him, “Thanks for standing up for our rights as Americans.”
